As wireless communications technologies have evolved, additional demands have been placed on wireless systems to support more extensive use of diverse wireless networks. Mobile network operators (MNOs) have begun incorporating “carrier-grade” WiFi in ways that complement their cellular and core network services. For instance, MNOs have sought to employ WiFi, which refers to wireless local area networking technology based on IEEE 802.11, to offload Internet traffic from their cellular and core networks. MNOs have also sought to provide users of WiFi networks with access to the evolved packet core (EPC) of cellular systems.
While demand continues to increase for inter-system integration of cellular and WiFi networks, existing methods of providing such integration have proven to be resource intensive and too often result in interruptions in ongoing communications.